Past Tenses

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 3

Past Simple

Past Continuous

Past Perfect

Past Perfect Continuous

I had been working for hours.

I work every Thursday.

I had finished the work before she arrived. 

I was working when she interrupted me. 

Past Simple

Form: verb + ed OR irregular verbs second row

Use:

• finished action in the past
• past habit or situation

Use the Past Simple in this sentence:
She ... a new dress yesterday. (to buy)

Use the Past Simple in this sentence:
He ... his friend last night. (to call)

Use the Past Simple in this sentence:
They ... their grandparents a week ago. (to visit)

Use the Past Simple in this sentence:
Harry ... in London in 2019. (to live)

Look at the sentences. What do you notice?

She bought a new dress yesterday.

He called his friend last night.

They visited their grandparents a week ago.

Harry lived in London in 2019.

What did you notice
in the sentences?

Look at the sentences. What do you notice?

She bought a new dress yesterday.

He called his friend last night.

They visited their grandparents a week ago.

Harry lived in London in 2019.

A specific time in the past --> Past Simple

Past Continuous

Form: was/were + verb + ing 

Use:

• a longer (interrupted) past activity
• to describe something 

Use the Past Continuous in this sentence:
We ... TV when we heard the news. (to watch)

Use the Past Continuous in this sentence:
I saw my uncle while I .... to the beach. (to walk)

Look at the sentences. What do you notice?

We were watching TV when we heard the news.

I saw my uncle while I was walking to the beach.

What did you notice
in the sentences?

Look at the sentences. What do you notice?

We were watching TV when we heard the news.

I saw my uncle while I was walking to the beach.

While and when are signal words, but there is also a Past Simple in the sentence!

Past Perfect

Form: had + verb + ed OR had + irregular verbs second row 

Use:

• an action that happened before another action

Use the Past Perfect in this sentence:
I ... lunch when you called me. (just / to eat)

Use the Past Perfect in this sentence:
The train ... by the time we got to the station. (already / to depart)

Use the Past Perfect in this sentence:
She ... such a beautiful sunset before. (never / to see)

Look at the sentences. What do you notice?

I had just eaten lunch when you called me.

The train had already departed by the time we got to the station.

She had never seen such a beautiful sunset before.

What did you notice
in the sentences?

Look at the sentences. What do you notice?

I had just eaten lunch when you called me.

The train had already departed by the time we got to the station.

She had never seen such a beautiful sunset before.

Words like just, already, never are signal words. They say something about the order of past events.

Past Perfect Continuous

Form: had + been + verb + ing

Use:

• longer / repeated actions with emphasis on the time

Use the Past Perfect Continuous in this sentence:
By the time we arrived, she ... for two hours. (to wait)

Use the Past Perfect Continuous in this sentence:
The kids ... outside all afternoon before it started to rain. (to play)

Use the Past Perfect Continuous in this sentence:
I ... on the project for weeks when they suddenly cancelled it. (to work)

Look at the sentences. What do you notice?

By the time we arrived she had been waiting for hours.

The kids had been playing outside all afternoon before it started to rain.

I had been working on the project for weeks when they suddenly cancelled it.

What did you notice
in the sentences?

Look at the sentences. What do you notice?

By the time we arrived she had been waiting for hours.

The kids had been playing outside all afternoon before it started to rain.

I had been working on the project for weeks when they suddenly cancelled it.

Focus on how long something took --> Past Perfect Continuous

How well do you understand the Past Tenses?

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